In 1665 the Plague of London began. It started because rats brought fleas with bubonic plague into the city and it spread around to people. At that time nobody knew how it started. The Lord Mayor ordered all cats and dogs to be killed, which actually made the problem worse. Most rich people left the city but one man stayed to help people. His name was The Earl of Craven. 100,000 people died because of this disease. Earl of Craven bought land for people so they could be buried. The people of London were unlucky because the following year a huge fire broke out in the city. Only six people were killed but almost 100,000 people lost their homes. In that fire The Earl of Craven was there again as a firefighter.